One of the thing not described in most descriptions of the Blade Show are the interactions with artists. Yes, artists.
I was so busy looking at knives I
didn’t recognize Sandra Brady selecting beautiful warthog ivory-handled knives
from Arno Bernard. https://arnobernard.com/
Arno Bernard lives in South
Africa and makes amazing knives. These will
become Sandra’s canvas. Sandra Brady is
a fantastic scrimshaw artist. I have, or
rather my wife has, one of her pieces and it is stunning. https://sandrabradyart.com.
I asked her if the Bernard knives
were part of a project, and she said no, she wanted them for future
commissions. Her display held a wide
subject range of scrimshaw art.
“What’s your favorite subject to
work on?”
After a moment, she told me, “I
like doing eagles and hawks, but I love a challenge.”
 |
| The Green Man |
To demonstrate she showed me a Dozier knife with a Green Man on it. Drawn only in black on white the intricate man was made of plant leaves. The Green Man is a legendary being belonging to many cultures worldwide and across time. He has his roots, in the symbolic rebirth of every spring. I vaguely remember him associated with the Arthurian legend from college studies.
I asked the price and Sandra told
me $1350. You might think it’s a lot of
money for a knife, but I think it’s reasonable for art.
